Prosecutors announced earlier this week that rapper Nelly won’t face drug charges stemming from his August arrest at a St. Louis-area casino. On Nov. 13 St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell explained that the evidence didn’t justify charges. Now Nelly, who has an estimated net worth of $40 million, can enjoy the $50,000 at the casino.
Nelly’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, argued that the initial search was unjustified, and that Nelly was targeted.
What Went Down That Day at the Casino
Here’s what apparently happened. Nelly was lucky on Aug. 7, winning $50,000 at the Hollywood Casino in St. Charles. When he went to cash in, a state trooper present at the hotel said Nelly had to undergo a background check. The check, according to police, pulled up an outstanding bench warrant for Nelly.
Nelly’s lawyers argued that the background was not mandatory for winners and that his client was single out. While it does seem that various casino do run checks to look for overdue taxes and unpaid child support, there does not seem to be an across-the-board rule.
In December 2023, a judge issued a warrant over a 2018 citation for operating a vehicle without proof of insurance. Because of the outstanding warrant, Nelly was arrested and searched. During the search, officer allegedly found four ecstasy pills.
The police later recommended filing a felony charge for the possession of a controlled substance, according to Newsweek.
The Los Angeles Times reported, Rosenblum explained that a 2018 citation for driving without proof of insurance in Maryland Heights, Missouri, was mixed up with a warrant issued in December 2023. The matter was resolved and dismissed after it was revealed that Nelly had proof of active car insurance.
But Rosenblum said that in August the state trooper arresting Nelly “felt compelled” to “parade him through the casino in front of other customers” in handcuffs, the LA Times reported.
While reports don’t say if police confiscated Nelly’s winnings when he was arrested, he is now cleared all of charges.
The news of the charges being dropped came just months after Nelly and singer Ashanti had a baby boy, Kareem Kenkaide Hayes, on July 18. The two split in 2014 after a decade together and rekindled their relationship in 2023. They secretly married in December 2023.
